What the Heck Happened to the Old Joe Heck?

In March of last year, Joe Heck refused to sign a controversial candidate tax pledge. Then, just a couple months ago, Heck flip-flopped. His former ‘reservations’? Forgotten!

And now that Heck has made his election year-transition, he got the endorsement of the House Conservatives Fund, whose chairman says the group supports ‘hardcore conservatives.’

But voters can see, as the Review-Journal wrote, “…even formerly moderate Republican Dr. Joe Heck is talking like a hit man for some conservative mafia family.”

“In his election year effort to set aside his past and now be a fiscal conservative, Joe Heck’s trying to change his stripes because it’s politically advantageous,” said Andy Stone, Western Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “First he quit the governor’s race and then he ran to the right to sign an anti-tax pledge after claiming to be a moderate. But Joe Heck’s primary opponent figured it out pretty quickly – and so will Nevada voters: Joe Heck is just ‘pretending’ to be a fiscal conservative.”

Background

In 2010, the House Conservatives Fund announced it was endorsing Heck. Said honorary chairman Rep. Patrick McHenry said. “These people are hardcore conservatives that can win both the primary and the general election.” [CQ Politics, 3/10/10]

According to a New York Times article focusing on the Tea Party movements, Heck, at a Tea Party Protest in Las Vegas, blamed the Democratic and Republican Parties for moving the country toward “socialistic tyranny.” [New York Times, 2/15/10]

On November 30, Heck captioned a picture on his Facebook page, ‘Signing the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge on November 3rd with Rep. Pete Sessions, Chair of the NRCC, as a witness.’ [Dr. Joe Heck Facebook page, accessed 12/1/09]

Las Vegas Review-Journal columnist John L. Smith commented, “Good heavens, even formerly moderate Republican Dr. Joe Heck is talking like a hit man for some conservative mafia family. After speaking in measured tones as a state legislator, the congressional candidate now barks like a born-again zealot.” [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 11/10/09]

According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, in March, Joe Heck declined to sign the Americans for Tax Reform pledge because, ‘…voters elect politicians to make the right decision based on the circumstances.’ Heck went on to say that, ‘he did not want to “second guess” the actions of lawmakers and the governor…’ [Las Vegas Review-Journal, 3/17/09]